There will also be an opening rant on all the opportunities the NHL squanders to promote some of its most positive storylines, including a couple in this very series. Rossi will be the media guest, bringing you the latest from the Penguins’ room. And the local Twitter legend @suckmeter will offer the Suck of the Week with a puckish perspective, as well.

To listen, just click on the link above. It’s free, easy, no signup. One click, and we’re on. If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or Android, we’ve got the upgraded TribLIVE Radio app. Also free and easy and everything else.

Never waste a breath with anyone debating the franchise’s greatest player. At least not beyond having them read up on No. 75’s career, especially as it relates to his arrival in Pittsburgh and — along with Chuck Noll — engineering the greatest loser-to-winner transformation sports will ever know.

Mean Joe played a starring role in this, too, of course …

Here’s some great background on maybe the most famous commercial in television history by our Kevin Gorman from 2009.

By the way, for baseball fans who aren’t seeing our weekly page dedicated to the sport in every Sunday paper, you’re missing out on some neat stuff, not least of which is a rotating feature examining a different minor-league affiliate each week.

Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong Pittsburgher, is an award-winning sports columnist for Trib Total Media covering the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and, recently, his fourth Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He also appears on WPXI-TV's 'Subway Final Word’ and hosts a weekly show on TribLIVE Radio. For 2011, he was named one of the country's top four columnists by the AP Sports Editors. For 2012, he was named one of the country's top three columnists by the National Headliners. For 2013, he was named the state's top columnist by the Keystone Press Awards and top columnist in Western Pennsylvania by the Golden Quills.

Comments

Wonder if that fan is the same one from my high school days who used to yell, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE HIT [CASHMAN…CLARKE…BOSSY]!” at the most perfect point of the game.

100% agreement on the need for more physical play. Isles have been just buzzing around with impunity. Time to wear them down with constant body shots. That’ll take some of the zip out of those tireless legs.

Finally, the two uses of the word “greatest” above? Neither approaches hyperbole. Word gets tossed around a lot, but in both of those cases…perfect word choice.

Thank you for the coverage. I like the idea of hitting somebody, of finishing your checks, of proper puck management, etc…Just words though until this team actually puts the plan into action. They need to play with passion and discipline. Know that these Islanders are young, tough, and speedy. Watch the game footage, know your assignments, make adjustments. Time to get to work boys. Maybe we could get Mean Joe to make a speech to motivate them.

What if Geno and Sid hit someone before they get hit themselves? That’s admittedly tricky, what with their injuries. Retaliation from the Islanders would have to be taken care of by other Pens players later on.

Geno would have to watch his shoulder (pretty tough to do when you are hitting someone). Hitting someone first may alleviate some of the frustration that it seems Geno is dealing with already. I have yet to see Sid shy away from contact due to his jaw. Didn’t the man stand up on an Islander in the middle of the ice last game?

I’m not talking about changing their style of play completely. I think hitting someone first would be a heck of an adjustment. And it would be something that the Islanders might not see coming, figuratively and literally.

Loved the columns the past 2 days about the Pens. I also appreciated the blog entries from Sarah, and others breaking down the Pens in detail.

But I have never been a “Paralysis by Analysis” type of person. The Pens problems are simple: Smarts and Effort. We can talk about systems, coaching, etc. all we ant. But I feel it truly is simple here. Play hard, smart hockey. Dont overanylize. Just play. Hippos like simple analysis……………….

Mr. Greene, as in 1981 when you retired from playing, you will be missed. Again.

Never really been a fan of interleague play, this series is a good reason why. But I know Bud has it here to stay, so meh. At least Jack Zduriencik gets to come home to New Castle.

Everyone have a great day. Raining here for the next 3. Hope to be back in time for the Bucs and Pens!

One opinion I do give a crap about is Rick Tocchet’s and he summed up the play of the Pens in the last couple games in one word. Arrogant. A word I used to describe them as well over the past few post-seasons. They just don’t get, that no matter who you play, you have to work just as hard as, and sometimes even harder than the other team. When you are always coming in as a top seed the better team, a bulls-eye is on their back it’s hard to find the work ethic, motivation and compete level that the underdogs trying to knock you off can. They still haven’t figured out how to compensate for that.

Dejan – Re: your comment about Seattle being in town for a 2 game set with the Pirates: I hate the baseball schedule since interleague play began. I am old (well, not really…51) and such a purist and never have liked it. Now, with the flip flop of Houston to the A.L. and interleague being every day…not for this fan of the sport.

It does have the stat that Murray was on the ice foe 9 of 10 PP goals against the Pens.

Other than that, it does little to support its headline.

Ok, Murray’s slow. Tell that to Tavares who couldn’t get around Murray 1-1 to create a breakaway in game 3.

I remember the same knocks on Murray from SJ forums when the trade occurred. I think Murray does a good job of playing within his range/limitations. I’m surprised that for his size and speed, he is rarely out of position. With the expectation set from those Sharks blogs, I thought he would be chasing the play and really haven’t seen that. I think he’s been one of the Pens most consistent players in this series. But I was a film major, what do I know.

I like many here not a Kennedy fan. But Bennett has not done much since game 1. Kennedy does bring speed and grit, although that’s about it. For me, a lot of my TK ire is from his contract and the fact the Pens could have used that on some one else.

While I don’t care for TK, if he’s in there, I hope your prediction is right!

Kennedy is a playoff vet who has acquitted himself well more often than not in the post-season. Now that he’s been an occasional scratch and he knows that playing time is no longer an automatic, I look for him to be on fire tonight and playing exactly how the coaches have asked him to play.

I watched Blues/Kings last night, the third western conference playoff game in the last few days. Honestly unless the Pens start playing like they did in the midst of their 15 game win streak, it won’t matter who comes out of the East.

Anybody remember when Mean Joe was drafted back in 1969? As I recall fans were ready to storm the Steelers’ offices. Who’s Joe Greene? From what I can remember, everyone thought that the Steelers would draft Butler native and Notre Dame star quarterback Terry Hanratty in the first round.
When the Steelers passed on him, other teams thought the Steelers knew something they didn’t so they passed on him too. The Steelers picked Hanratty in the second round. He never amounted to much in the NFL but it’s still a neat story.
I’m just going by memory here as I was only in grade school at the time so if anyone can verify this story that would be great.
Thanks.

Ah, the memories DKs opening paragraphs bring back.
From about 88 to 94 I was fortunate enough to have a steady seat in sec E-19 under that ol steel dome. The HIT SOMEBODY cry still rings in my ears.
The crowd in the nose bleed cheap seats was for the most part a pretty savvy hockey bunch. Oh sure there were a few drunk buffoons scattered around, but mostly a fairly sharp bunch. DK is correct that the HIT SOMEBODY cry “almost” always lacks insight ect.

Almost is the key word here. Most often is was a cry of frustration when the Pens were performing well below expectations – a plaintive cry of agony. Little bit dramatic there but you get my drift.

Other times it had a hard angry edge – as when the opponents took a perceived cheap shot at one of our heros.

If the game was rather lackluster and boring- not a whole lot of action either way – it became a rallying cry – Cmon Pens HIT SOMEBODY – pick it up.

What a horribly written piece. One stat to support an argument. Here’s my counter… what’s going on with the other PK guys (7 regulars, right)? They all are at +1 in PK situations? Come on.

First, Orpik and Bortuzzo are hardly “bigger hitters” than Murray. Orpik’s not terribly far behind, but it’s not like Orpik and Bortuzzo frighten the bejeebies out of anyone. And considering Bortuzzo (really?! where did that even come from) played all of 15 games this season: that’s not even a good point.

The PK didn’t improve 20% with Murray? Yeah? Surprised? Maybe there’s something to be said for the scheme. Or the players as a whole on the PK. If Murray shot 9 pucks into his own net, maybe there’s something to go off of with the % not improving drastically.

His positional play when compared to most of our D has been outstanding. His physicality hasn’t been matched by anyone (Orpik hasn’t even played). He’s made far fewer costly blunders than Martin, Niskannen and Letang in this series (I’ve seen Martin be pushed off the puck like a rag doll several times already). He doesn’t get muscled off the puck. What a liability. Not saying he’s Gordie Howe, but give some credit and context where it’s due.

I’ve seen a lot of reports saying Orpik and Neal have a chance to play tonight. If that is the case, how do the lines shake up? Kunitz-Malkin-Neal looked awesome against the Canes. Bylsma is intent on keeping Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis together…I think. It would be a shame to force Iginla back on the LW on Malkin’s line…that line didn’t seem to have as much chemistry. Sid basically can play with anyone, so hopefully Bylsma goes 9-87-12, 14-71-18, 10-16-24, 15-36-27. Kennedy maybe instead of Glass. Then again Jeffery is always good his first game back from a long stretch. Dmen pairings would be obvious. Thoughts?

I was directly across from you, friend, in section E3. We liked sitting up there because you could see the whole ice, how the play developed, etc. In fact, I found myself seeing TOO MUCH of the action…it’s hard to cheer when you (think, anyway) that you can see every wrinkle.

That section, though, featured two things that drove me nuts. One, the “shoot the puck!” crowd was insufferable there. Two, there was the guy that sat directly behind me that would go on and on calling the players by nicknames.

I’m sorry, but my theory is, unless you personally know the guy, or you’re in the locker room – which, hell, I don’t know, he might have – YOU DON’T GET TO CALL THEM BY THEIR NICKNAME.

I didn’t know Colby Armstrong from Adam, I’m not calling him “Army.” I couldn’t pick Brian Holzinger out of a line-up, he doesn’t become “Holzy.”

Anything can happen in the playoffs, and they are on a roll. A lot of people had the Canucks as their sleeper pick out of the West, and SJ is taking it to them. I’m sure the Luongo stuff isn’t helping any either…. If they are your 2nd team, stick with them man! The Blues were always mine….

Would REALLY like to have an off the record conversation with HCDB on why he is so hesitant to put Iggy with Sid and Kunitz with Geno. There has got to be a reason, because it seems to be too obvious and inspite of what some think, he has proven himself to be one of the top coaches in the league.

If Neal dresses, I would expect Bennett to sit, no other changes. IMO, way too many are underestimating what Glass is bringing to the lineup, which does not include his team mates. They did not bring him to Pittsburgh to score or be in any shape or form a top 6 forward. He is doing what he does.

If Orpik can’t go (and sure hope he can), it will be back to Engo. Aside from the two penalties in game 2, has played pretty decent. Depres, hopefully will not see the ice again this year. Not only was he directly responsible for the first two goals the last game, but his “benching” totally screwed the D pairings the rest of the game. For all his potential, he makes Paul Martin look like Scott Stevens.

You are absolutely correct my friend – you could SEE the whole ice!
Sadly hockey does not translate to TV as well as some other sports.
There is soo much going on behind the puck that TV just cannot pick up.
Even when I am watching on TV I try to pick up some of those things if I can, hard mostly, but sometimes you can.

With everyone healthy, the 12 forwards and 6 Dman are easy. I think Glass is very important to the PK and adds some grit, Bennett is good but not on the PK and he’d be off the 2nd PP unit with Neal back. Organizing the 12 forwards is the key.

I was chatting with a non-Pens fan recently. He said he had nothing but respect for Crosby and Malkin off the ice, but that they look delicate on the ice. I asked for clarification. Said gentleman replied that both superstars were protected more than the puck sometimes during games.

I don’t agree with the guy, but I can see where he is coming from, thus my statement that a “hey, how ya doing?” hit should be offered early during a playoff game. Crosby and Sid should not go all Niklas Kronwall on anyone. Just give a reminder to the other team that they possess the whole package; physicality plus their hockey gods-given point scoring capabilities.

It’s because he’s been forced to play on his off wing. Put him with Sid and see what happens.
Even at that, I don’t think he’s looked any better or worse than anyone else. This entire team just needs to get their collective heads out of their rear ends.

I wouldn’t say average, but I wouldn’t say superstar. He’s made some nice plays, but also has coughed up the puck in the offensive zone at times. He may be still getting used to his line mates – it took Hossa awhile before he and Sid clicked. I have a feeling he may get on a roll soon…

Typically no, I don’t. I go with the player’s last name primarily, and will occasionally throw their first name in when it’s clear I’m talking about them (“Brown with the three…I can tell you that David has been working on that lately,” and the like).

Now, is that to say a “DB” hasn’t slipped through the cracks here and there? I’m sure it has. I just try to avoid it whenever possible. Even so, I’ll rationalize my hypocrisy by saying that once you get to road trips, you probably end up knowing more about these guys than you wanted to…LOL.

I was going to type a response to Jandy’s question having read the article, but I will just second everything you said here. These were exactly my thoughts. I will also add to this that Murray appears to be the only Dman willing to clear the crease when the puck goes in the blue paint. That alone was a much needed addition to the team.

I don’t think his upside is higher than Bennett’s still. Bennett has been forced to play on the Malkin line the last two games and, as we all know, playing on Malkin’s line is not something that many people can be successful at. With Bennett playing on the fourth line, you add scoring touch and potential that is just no longer there with Kennedy and I have seen Bennett throwing his body into checks pretty well for a skill player who everyone said was too small after his bout with the flu.

In the end, this could all be irrelevant because hopefully Neal comes back sooner than later. With Neal back, Bennett will unfortunately be back to healthy scratch, but all four lines are able to look much better with his addition.

Every player has “his game”. Ron francis and Wyne Gretzky did pretty good and they could have played whole seasons carrying a dozen eggs without breaking one.

Malkin and Crosby, like any other player, needs to play the way they feel they best contribute. Morrow needs to hit. Iginla needs to score and hit. Letang needs to carry the puck and not turn it over.

Everyone has a role. Everyone was drafted, signed, traded for for a purpose. You play the way the coach and GM wants you to play. Not the way John P Jackwagon, copier salesmen from Akron wants them to play.

Sid wants to play with Kunitz and Dupuis, and Bylsma wants to keep his superstar happy. It’s really no more complicated than that.

I think if Neal hadn’t gotten hurt, we may have seen Kunitz and Ignila swap lines at some point in this series, but so far at least one of the top six forwards has been injured in every game since the trades, so there hasn’t been a convenient opportunity to make the switch.

Also agree… IMO Iginla has only looked good on the power play so far… he looks lost on Malkin’s wing. And I know we keep saying Crosby can play with anyone but I’m pretty sure its Kunitz that can and HAS played well with both geno and crosby.

Mine were the ducks and I badly want to root for them against the wings… but they have THE david ‘blindside’ steckel and brucie ‘loudmouth-short-guy-syndrome’ boudreau. Still hoping they knock off the red wings but go no further. Phoenix was my other team in the west but they kinda sucked this year. :\

I think I just feel bad for them because they’ve so often been early season favorites to win the Cup and NEVER get there. I guess I’d like to see them just once make it to the finals (where we beat the crap out of ‘em). I’d be ok with the Blues too.

Plus the Sharks had like the coolest logo when they entered the league. I was a kid and a big hockey fan and all my friends and I loved the Sharks. And who can forget the Brian Heyward mask? It was, to quote Kung Fu Panda, “Pure Awesomeness.”

Speaking of my ol’ buddy/pal Paul Martin…did you guys hear his comments about the forwards needing to do a better job of helping the d? Can you believe the nerve on that over paid and over sized pylon? How bout he focus on the basics by his net?!?!?! Like lifting a stick and maybe some boxing out? He should visit practice of some 12 year olds…maybe he’ll learn some basics there…

Spot on with the lines there Damon. I don’t know if DB will break up the Crosby-Dupuis-Kunitz line, but he should for the betterment of the whole team. NO WAY I put Kennedy in over Glass. Glass has been doing a good job killing penalties right now and Kennedy doesn’t kill penalties at all. I leave Glass in there.

I’m guessing Scott has not talked to Sid, however, Mark Madden (as much as I can’t stand him) has said the same thing, and there is certainly a chance he has talked to Sid. He said that Sid likes playing with Kunitz and Dupuis and Sid gets what he wants.

That being said, it is time for Coach to step up and be a coach and do what is best for the team by putting Kunitz with Malkin and Iginla with Crosby.

Awesome! Thank you for the update. With the new facilities and the increase in available scholarships, it is likely that the program will improve significantly over the next few years. The rub is that the results may not show it, as the competition level in the ACC is a significant ramp up from the Big East. Which is why it would be so nice to take the Big East title this year. Go Pitt!

LIKE that stat. Definitely noticeable in last game. Someone delivered a big hit on Murray and he didnt go down. Looked like he barely noticed someone hit him. Actually, I think the guy that hit him went down.

And I love that Dupweee and John Adams throw them all the time. Really do. It’s just kinda funny (sometimes not so much if it puts them out of position) that they deliver a crushing hit and then splat themselves on the ice. Kinda like a William Gay tackle.

Is anyone else going to the game? We are looking to tailgate with some pens fans. Got some more reasonable playoff tics on stubhub at work…

We were at the game on Sunday and I gotta say I personally have never been in such an electric crowd. Last row in the cheap seats against the wall…. good thing too because I’m sure we would have had some things spilled on us or worse if someone had the chance.

Not sure if anyone has seen this, but this guy just wrote the biggest joke article ever about the Abdelkader’s suspension, the Red Wings, the NHL and Gary Bettman. If you enjoy a few laughs, and a few WTFs…please click & enjoy…

I watched the ducks n wings… honestly thought that game would end with the ducks stealing the game from the wings like the penguins did in game 3. Wings fought hard! and tied it to go to overtime. And then Corey Perry embellished on a high stick penalty. I thought they’d score on that penalty but I guess they just aren’t the penguins.

OMG! This guys is as big a jackwagon as that dorktard from Ottawa ;X
“Beyond the few hockey diehards — and bandwagon fans in the playoffs interested in the Red Wings — ask yourself, what does the NHL do to draw you in? They have no clue how to market the sport in America. Name five stars in the league not in Detroit?”
He’s embarrassing Detroit and the Redwings. They should shut him up/down.

man, that guy is all over the place… looks more like a transcript from a radio show than a column. Also “name 5 stars not in detroit”.. he is serious with that? almost everyone can name 5 stars in each conference (and no one from detroit is at the top of my list).

Here are a couple articles in response to some above posts. First of all, in response to the joke of an article on Yahoo about Doug Murray being the week link, I think this is a much more accurate and telling article.

1) Fans really overrate closers, and few GMs do. (a couple still do, but most don’t).
2) Hanrahan was a fine closer for our Bucs….after he failed in the role for the Nats.
3) Pirates, regardless of payroll, can’t put that many eggs in the bullpen basket.
4) Even if they kept Joel, 2013 was it in the ‘burgh for him.
5) Grilli more than likely doesn’t sign with the Bucs if Hanny is still here (even if the Pirates made an offer which they wouldn’t have).
6) Even last year, you can make an argument that Grilli was performing on par with Hanny and often times faced the middle of the lineup in the 8th inning.
7) The trade with the Sox was good, even if the return was only Melancon and Pimentel. Sands and DeJesus are AAAA filler so don’t hold your breaths analyzing their performance.
8) As much as NH deserves criticism, let’s please give him credit that he knows how to build good bullpens…seems we have enough objective evidence at this point, no?

9) I don’t root for players the Pirates trade away to fail so the trade looks better for us… too bad for Hanny….

You’re certainly welcome. I’ve also played a season on MLB The Show that ended up like the Cutch commercial that aired back in April- except I won the World Series in 4 games (helps when you can adjust the difficulty level).

NH builds bullpens that do quite well from April to about mid-August.
The wheels really seem to come off at that point.
Seriously, check their ERA splits from April 1st to about August 10th and then what their ERA’s are at from August 11th to the end of the season. Not pretty.

There has to be an interleague series all the time now with both leagues having 15 teams. Otherwise, you’d have an AL & NL team off (as 7 play 7 (14 teams) and then the 1 (15th) would be off those days) every series!

I’m not a huge fan of this.

At least they could’ve sent the geedee Brewers back to the AL where they came from!

Pittsburgh Pirate scouting deserve a ton of credit for the Hanrahan trade.

Pimentel replacing his shoddy curveball with a plus slider late last year to complement his mid 90s fastball should give him the stuff to be at worst a good reliever. Somebody was paying attention to that.

Oh yeah. Closers were the subprime loans of major league baseball. The bubble has burst.

I’d give the guys you mentioned all the credit they got.

Where baseball went crazy was when every guy that racked up 20 saves in a season started getting contracts approaching $10m/yr. Elite closers are worth every penny to the teams that can afford them. But there might be 3-5 of those guys in the game, at most.

The rest are good relievers that happen to pitch in the 9th inning. No reason to pay them any more than their skill level dictates.

No it’s not a statement…that dorktard truly believes that NHL fans can’t name 5 stars in the NHL that aren’t from Detroit. Doesn’t matter if they’re from Pittsburgh. But hell, I *KNOW* Wings fans know 5 stars that aren’t from Detroit,.,..because they make fun of most of the Pens stars anyway…starting with Sid. (The call him Cindy). Shows they’re IQ, doesn’t it?

If they started hitting more some people would say they aren’t passing enough…as long as they keep winning hockey games and trophies its hard to criticize anything those two do. Somebody here on the blog yesterday suggested benching Malkin (the league MVP and former Conn Smythe winner) in favor of Dustin Jeffrey. That’s so crazy you cant even argue with it.

I’m fairly certain its because thats who Sid wants. Hes the Captain and he does have some input in that kind of decision. SOme caoches dont ask for input, some do.

But really if you took:
Neal, Kunitz, Morrow, Malkin, Iginla and Dupuis and picked names at random…you really cant make a bad line. Just cant. I think Malkin/Neal/Iginla is a line that just about every other team in the league would kill for and as fans we cant wait to break it up. If they do, so be it. But if Kunitz stays with Sid, i feel pretty good about Malkin playing between Iggy an Neal.

You notice the next paragraph Sid goes on to say,
“It’s not up to me,” he said. “But we’re pretty comfortable together. It would probably make for an easier transition. But that’s not my job. My job is to play. When I’m able to come back, I’ll be happy with whoever I’m playing with.”

Patrick Kane, Johny Toes, Corey Crawford, Marian Hossa… all these guys I would name before Datsyukian and Zetterburgh. But yeah, I guess if he was saying red wings fans can’t name any stars outside of Detroit, that makes a lil more sense.

If you read my posts from yesterday I credit PM for having a good bounce back game in game 3! BUT if you want to know why i’m critical of said pylon just look at the 1st 2 goals against in game 2. For some reason the word ” sofffff” in a french accent comes to mind

Apparently, we really are missing Orpik according to the Rob Rossi article. Bylsma’ lost faith in Orpik’s fillins Engelland and Despres which I guess can see. And the islanders only fear big Murray back there.

Hope both him and Neal play tonite. And hoping for another comeback game from Nealer like his first comeback when he tricked.

Why so condescending jandy? Icemans post implies that I didn’t acknowledge a better performance by PM in game 3…just getting the record straight…iceman can save his breathe but you should saved the condescending comments…unless you’re the judge and jury of all posts on here.

You can be critical all you want of Paul Martin for the first 2.5 games of the series, however, it seems to me a bit ridiculous to single him out. Other than Sid and Murray, everyone on this team has had several moments of playing like garbage. Why single out Martin when he has bounced back to play well and other players (Letang, Eaton, etc.) have not bounced back near as well. Also, Martin played 30+ minutes last game (only topped by Letang) because all faith was lost in Despres. So not only did Martin bounce back, but he did it at a time when he should have been wearing down from being overplayed.

I realize you have some strange vendetta against Paul Martin, but I for one am happy he is on the blue line right now.

My beef with PM is that he’s consistently the only dman on the roster that gets beat not doing the most basic things. Boxing out getting shoulder to shoulder and lifting sticks is the most basic thing you could do while defending your net. And the last 2+ season PM has consistently refused or is incapable of defending the front of the net which is why I wanted to trade him at the deadline when his value was sky high after having a very good stretch the last half of the season. Comparing letang to PM is absurd…eaton has been over exposed and should’ve been rested down the stretch along with orpik. Despres and bortuzzo should’ve played more down the stretch…that’s why I think despres is getting hammered unfairly. He’s rusty right now and it showed in game 3.

But about PM his issues are much different and basically revolve around him being “SOFFFF”

For gods sake…
1) They won game 1 by shutout. So how you make any arguement that the defense or anyone on it was poor, substandard or a “pylon” is absurd. If he had hit everything that moved would the Isles have had negative goals?
2) Watch the penalty Strait took on Sid and try to comprhend what people mean when they say “positional defensemen”. Strait tried to lean on Sid and gave up the inside hip to one of the worst players you should try that on. Crosby spun off of him just like Jagr and in one step had beat Strait to the net. THATS THE KIND OF MISTAKE PM DOESNT MAKE. You don’t have to hit everything that moves to be effective. PM uses position and skating to keep his man to the outside and against the boards. He forces his man to going to a chunk of ice where he isnt a threat to score. If he was a boxer, he would use footwork to cut off the rink and force his opponent into the corner.
3) This is straight up criticism of how much he makes, not how he plays. Mark Eaton plays the same way but no one criticizes him for being less physical, but only because he makes far less. Don’t let salary cloud or taint your opinions.

ACK! I know how that feels, and it’s not good. Did that or a week and a half not long ago working no a bid. End of the day you’re brain dead.
Keep on keepin’ on girl. My prayers and good vibes are still flowing for ya

Troll? Just cuz im voicing my opinion that our highest paid dman is sofff in front of the net? You maybe comfortable with that but im not and haven’t been since the tampa series…not trolling just consistent!

So you say Paul Martin is “Soff.” I decided to check some stats to see how “Soff” he is.

These are all playoff stats taken from the NHL website:

5 Blocked Shots is second on the team.
+4 is first on the team.
25:36 Time-on-ice is second on team.
3:35 Short Handed Time-on-ice is second on the team (First for defensemen).
Penguins PK is currently at 90.9, fourth of any team in the playoffs.
He has three hits (same as Engelland, Niskanen, and more than Crosby, Malkin, Eaton, Jokinen, and Sutter).

Now that you studied up on stats go take a look at 1st 2 goals against in game 2. Then put together stats of plays PM didnt make cuz he didn’t want to TAKE a hit. Theres a whole lengthy reel of lowlights where PM didn’t pick up his guy by the net didn’t lift sticks and didn’t want to take a hit to make a play…

Look we didn’t trade him, he’s here so im rooting for him…but i’m allowed to call him out when he doesn’t do basic things conducive to the playoffs…letangs and eatons and etc…their mistake are correctable usually…PM’s mistakes however are harder to correct for reasons I’ve been stating for 2+ seasons.

Look I admitted that Martin left something to be desired in the first 2.5 games, but you keep saying it can’t be corrected. The article I posted from The Pens Blog shows that Martin did correct things by the end of game three. I know that it is impossible to convince you to look at the other side, so I can only hope that Martin has a great game in game 4.